"Academy of Evil" is a very odd case for Barnaby Jones....or, more rightly, for his company....as Barnaby is barely in the show at all. It's about some private girls school where a small group of girls are apparently up to no good. Sure, some of it is criminal activity...though it's hardly serious crimes nor the sort of thing Barnaby ever handled in other episodes. For this reason, it's a bit hard to believe!
After a teacher breaks her arm due to a supposed prank, someone from the school comes to Barnaby to ask he investigate to figure out who's behind this and other nasty 'prainks'. Instead, he hands the case off to Betty...mostly because by season 7, Barnaby mostly handed off cases to her and Jedediah....a MAJOR problem with later episodes. Folks tuned in to see Barnaby...and he's hardly seen. Betty deliberately confronts trouble makers and tries to make herself the object of the mean girls' 'pranks'....and soon she truly is hated by these nasty teens.
While the basic idea of this show is interesting, it also seems like the writers had run out of ideas as investigating misdemeanors at a girls school seems ludicrous for an agency known for investigating murders and insurance fraud! Also, the wicked teens are a bit on the obvious side....and you wonder how the school hadn't identified them as troublemakers a lot sooner. Plus, the ring leaders' actions when they realize Betty is an undercover investigator defies common sense. Overall, a big disappointment. I didn't hate it nearly as much as the other review currently on IMDB but it certainly is NOT good. Besides, with so many other really bad late season 6 and season 7 episodes, I'll save most of my hate for episodes like "Hitch-Hike to Terror" and "Uninvited Peril".